FALL 2017

CAROLINAchildren

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:Learn more about how our CHS families, supporters, and staff come together to transform the lives and futures of children.

My name is Lindsay Rothrock and I am a public relations professional, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a fiancé, and a Children’s Home Society adoptee. When I was 34 days old, my parents came to Children’s Home Society to pick me up from a bassinet that held many children before me and still to this day, holds children right up until that moment when their life is changed forever. Since day one, adoption was an openly talked about subject in our house, and I always knew that my home with my family was where I was supposed to be.

In 2010 when I turned 21, I was legally able to begin talks with my case worker, Lee, at Children’s Home Society (who, as a side note, was there when I was adopted and still remembers me going home with my parents) to start the process of finding out more information about my birth parents. My parents, Lee, and all of Children’s Home Society were by my side during the slightly terrifying, very emotional process of getting in touch with my birth mother. They were always there to answer my questions, facilitate conversation, and guide me through this experience as if I was the only client they had.

A few months after I started working with Lee, she connected me with my birth mother, who luckily, was open to talking with me too. During my senior year of college, I was able to get many of my lingering questions about my past answered, see pictures of her, as well as her two beautiful daughters and her husband (not my birth father), who was also adopted from Children’s Home Society. Small world, isn’t it? Maybe even more of a relief, I was able to tell her that she had made the right decision. I was able to tell her that I had a wonderful life, a loving and supportive family, that I was successful, and that I held no hard feelings towards the decision she made as a young 16-year-old girl 21 years prior.

While I was incredibly blessed to go home that day in May of 1989 to my forever family, many children throughout North Carolina are without a place to call home, without a family to love them, and without the comfort of knowing who they might be living with the next week or the next year. I can barely imagine how traumatizing that would be for any child to go through, many of them moving around with few enough possessions to fit in a single trash bag.

Children’s Home Society is working tirelessly every day to transform the lives and futures of children and families throughout North Carolina and without them, I would not be where I am today. That is why I have decided to get involved with Children’s Home Society – to volunteer my skills and knowledge to the Charlotte Community Leadership Council, to help with fundraising through A Place to Call Home, and to be an advocate and a donor for their work.

In honor of National Adoption month in November, I urge you to consider what you can give back to Children’s Home Society and how you can help today.

Want to get involved? Reach out to Betsy Seaton at bseaton@chsnc.org or 1-800-632-1400, ext. 553 to learn how.

by Lindsay Rothrock

HOME by way ofCHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY

The fam! Yep, mom and I get told everywhere we go that, “You must be mother and daughter!” We just laugh, and say, “Yes we are!”

2 www.chsnc.org

We often hear the expression, “It takes a village to raise a child.” There are no truer words when it comes to the children of Children’s Home Society.

In this issue of Carolina Children, you’ll see a story of five siblings whose lives were touched through CHS nearly 100 years ago through adoption, and then half a century later when they were reunited through our Post Adoption services. Lindsay Rothrock tells of her adoption in 1989 when her new parents saw her for the first time. CHS helped her reconnect with her birth mother 21 years later. Both of these families have since become actively involved with CHS as volunteers, fundraisers, and donors.

Many of you may remember the Cardenas brothers from our A Place to Call Home events several years ago. Like proud parents, we are enjoying watching them grow up and become advocates for adoption by sharing their story through their essays. Wise Guys participant Dalton Ira joins them in advocating through promoting sexual responsibility education for teens based on his Wise Guys experience.

We cannot do the work we do, have the impact we have, and grow that impact without each of you. It takes our donors, our sponsors, our volunteers, our advocates, our staff, and our families to succeed. I thank you on behalf of the many children, families, and advocates who comprise the Children’s Home Society.

My best,

Brian ManessPresident & CEO

Brian Maness

Brian ManessPresident & CEO

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Susan L. McDonald, ChairAnthony BucciKelly JonesGail M. LeBauerCarole S. Lesley Cathy LevinsonGinni Lineberry John B. Morris IIIMary SheppardDavid ShufordSam SimpsonPorter B. ThompsonRyon Wilder

BOARD MEMBERSJane L. Cochrane*Barden CookeMargaret de St. AubinPatsy DukeShirley FryeEllen LintonSallie A. McMillion*Mary PattersonElizabeth RankinCharles M. ReidWanda StarkeKay Stern*Liz SummersAlexander (Sandy) ThompsonKevin Thompson

* Life Member

Young men eager to learn.DEDICATED EDUCATORS.

THEN AND NOW:Making Families and Keeping Families TogetherPoverty can literally tear a family apart. In sharing his story with his family, Robert recalled that in 1920, when he was 8 years old, “My father walked off and left us. My mother was there, but she couldn’t support five kids.” So, on Easter Day, Robert and his older brother Bill were removed from their childhood home. The brothers were placed in separate foster homes about a mile apart in rural Alamance County where they went to school together and saw each other almost every day. Robert admits that adjusting to living with foster parents was hard, and they both pined for the family they lost.

Two of their younger siblings, Walter and Martha, were adopted by a family in Lee County who raised them in an open adoption where they enjoyed a few visits with their biological mother. It was comforting to see her as their bonds with their new parents grew stronger. The youngest brother, Reuben, was only six-months-old when he was separated from his birth family. Reuben was adopted and moved to Pamlico County.

It was almost 100 years ago that CHS helped Walter, Martha and Reuben find their forever families. Today, CHS still helps children whose lives are turned upside down due to circumstances beyond their control.

The five siblings reunited in the 1970s with the help of CHS’s Post-Adoption services. The Sanford Herald even covered the big reunion. Robert told the reporter that he had tried to reconnect earlier, but only Martha and Walter’s adoptive family was agreeable to contact. “The folks were just as nice to me as any parent could have been. They made me feel right at home.” Reuben’s adoptive family declined access, but changes in adoption laws made it possible for CHS to share information about the long-lost brother. “He sure does look like his mother,” Martha commented when Reuben gathered with his other siblings at Robert’s home for the first time in 55 years.

Thank you to Walter’s daughters, Carolyn Boyd (a member of the CHS Triangle Community Leadership Council) and Dianne Lawrence, for sharing this special CHS family story.

Biological brothers Walter and Bill at their family reunion.

1.800.632.1400 3

Young men eager to learn.DEDICATED EDUCATORS.

Dalton Ira and Kendall Freeman

My name is Dalton Ira and I go to Rosewood High School in Goldsboro, NC. Had it not been for Wise Guys, I would have no formal sex education course in high school. The laws concerning sex ed for public school students say that one class period in middle school constitutes a full and proper education.

There is no technical funding for sexual education given to my school, so the school uses money from the physical education budget. If it was not for our school administration, we would not have a sex ed class at all, much less a program like Wise Guys. Wise Guys is a phenomenal resource to use when government funding is absent. Wise Guys provides necessary information that can shape the way high school students learn what is important.

In my Wise Guys class, we covered every topic I could imagine. We were not only allowed, but encouraged, to ask questions. Wise Guys not only covers the basics of sexual education, but also includes making good moral decisions, general health, and how to be a man in a world that typically lacks male role models. If it were up to me, I would spread Wise Guys across the state and provide a female counterpart so that all students, regardless of gender, could receive an equal and exceptional education.

Note: Dalton wrote a more in-depth essay as a result of his Wise Guys experience which received first place honors, earning him a scholarship, in the Wayne County Health Department’s 2017 Teen Public Health Essay Contest.

“Very seldom do educators get a student that leaves a lasting impression on them, but Dalton Ira is just that student. Dalton is one of those students that any educator dreams and hopes will be in their class. He’s extremely intelligent, enthusiastic, and his hunger for knowledge is exceptional. He has an enormous heart and yearns for equality across the board. He has a bright future ahead of him!”

– Kendall Freeman, Wise Guys Educator

MAKE EVERY DAY AGiftDonate to the

Little Red Stocking Fund at chsnc.org/donate

Business LeadersMAKE A DIFFERENCE

Congratulationsto CHS adopteesAdrian and Martin Cardenas!

Grace 7Robert 7Maliki 3Michelle 13Rachael 11Justin 14Abigayle 8Jordan 4Darren 10Pryce 12Noah 1Tracy 2Paul 17Christopher 11Kimberly 16Devyn 10Malijah 12Andrew 7Haleigh 8Alyssa 13David 11Caitlin 2Victoria 9Kevin 1Amy 8Richard 13

Shelton 7Spencer 5Alayna 3Jaxson 3Nevaeh 5Bella 1King 3Baby 1Doyle 1Brayden 4Bentley 5Naomi 5Vanessa 6Nathyn 5Victoria 17Kane 5Michael 1Hailey InfantWyland 15Annabella 5Gabriella 4Nicholas 18Terry 15Jaliyah 2Liston 8Abigail 5

Brooklyn 4Heaven 1Linaya 5Ma’Kayla 8Sanaa 6Chyanne 10Elizabeth 7Tonya 12Bradlyn 13Logan 3Andrekius 9Dylan 3Amber 1Gabrielle 3Jeremiah 4Journie 3Billy 3Matthew 4Cameron 5Melachai 2Hunter 1Jessiah 6Reahsahn 6Kahleah 6Kyler 1Dezirea 2

Destini 14Shamyah 9Carter 2Latanza 8Alexis 7Landon 5Matthew 8Bentlee 5Ezekiel 2Alissa 2Sicily 5Dora 5Narianna 8Teresa 6Baby 1Hunter 11Dejuan 6Madison 8Merci 9Moriah 5Melissa 5Kayden 7Ladaisah 3Mekhi 4Baby 1Damarious 7

Arihana 6Caden 7Jase 7Jadarrius 9Jaiden 5Amari 7Adelay 3Kamari 3Omari 3Tonya 7Baby 1Cody 8Elizabeth 9Talon 12Breanna 12Shauna 10Emily 8Giovanni 10Bailey 3Josh InfantMickaela 11Jazmyn 11Tayven 6Jace 2Jaylyn 6Jeno 13

Altaschich 8Trevion 7Jaiden 4Iyonna 7Briella 6Daison 3Malaysha 4Ginger 8Cassie 5Jennifer 6Keyonna 13Niyea 10Felicia 6Eric 1Noel 9Elijah 12Gabriel 2Nicholas 13Ariel 13Matthew 8Steven 7Truitt 12Briann 16Linwood 11Olivia 1Christian 4

Henry 9Axuree 10Diego 9Corionna 11Brannon 9Breyden 13Nathan 10David 15Luis 10Arionna 13Markell 6Patricia 17Stephen 10Nicole 1Travis 9Lazavia 15Elizabeth 16Sonya 11William 17Valashia 16Alex 16Kaycee 7

4 www.chsnc.org

I don’t really have a lot of memories of my birth family. But my Mom says that it’s okay. I know that my brother and I were taken from my birth Mom when I was 3 and Adrian was 11 months old. We were taken to a foster home and sometimes were able to visit with our birth parents. Sometimes we would go and just my birth Dad would come. Sometimes nobody would show up. When that happened my foster mother would get mad at my birth mom. What I remember most about that time was that I liked to draw. So, I would sit for really long times by myself and draw lots of pictures. I think my Mom has some of them.

On November 22, 2013, we moved out of our foster home and went to live with our parents. At the time they were not our parents, they were strangers! “At least I had my brother,” is what I was thinking. But it turned out that they were nice. It took a very long time for us to become officially adopted. My Mom and Dad kept going back to court, and it seemed like it was taking FOREVER! Then one day we got home

from school and found two suits on our beds. Our Mom told us that we were going to have to miss school so we could go to court. We were both really excited. I pulled out the letter I had been working on and showed it to my Mom. She knew I wanted to read a letter to the judge and she said she thought it would be okay.

When the day finally arrived, I was too nervous to read my letter. My Mom read it for me. She cried. Lots of people in the courtroom did. But the judge was so nice. And she and my Mom ended up becoming good friends. And because of the letter, a video was made and shown in other cities. We were invited to fancy parties where everyone wanted to meet US!! It was a dream come true.

I have been with my new family since I have been in kindergarten. I am now in the third grade. My brother is in first grade. Even though we fight, I still love him. And he’s really funny. I understand the meaning of family. Like my Dad says in our video, “Family is the love.”

Adrian placed 1st and Martin placed 3rd in a statewide essay contest themed “What’s Your Story?” Both boys wrote about their journey from foster care to adoption, their day in court, and their new forever family.

How Two Strangers Changed My Life By Martin Cardenas

To view the Cardenas family video and other family videos visit, chsnc.org/success-stories

CELEBRATING RECENT ADOPTIONS

By Adrian Cardenas

Cheyenne, 14

Michael, 11

Joshlynn, 12

Marcus, 15

CHILDREN AWAITING ADOPTION

Please visit chsnc.org/meet-our-children

for more information about these and many other children who are available for adoption.

When businesses reach out to Children’s Home Society with a desire to give back, we are grateful and ready to put their teams to work. Corporate sponsors can volunteer with our children and families through a variety of programs throughout the year. When a corporation gets involved, their efforts alleviate the workload of our social workers and enable our focus to be on children and families rather than on event logistics and coordination.

Below are two examples of how organizations have been involved recently.

There are many ways businesses can get involved with the work Children’s Home Society accomplishes in the community. To learn more, please contact Betsy Seaton at bseaton@chsnc.org or 1-800-632-1400, ext. 553.

Business LeadersMAKE A DIFFERENCE

Henry 9Axuree 10Diego 9Corionna 11Brannon 9Breyden 13Nathan 10David 15Luis 10Arionna 13Markell 6Patricia 17Stephen 10Nicole 1Travis 9Lazavia 15Elizabeth 16Sonya 11William 17Valashia 16Alex 16Kaycee 7

1.800.632.1400 5

Red Ventures opened their headquarters to our Child Specific Recruitment program and hosted an event for children who are available for adoption to meet and interact with prospective families who are licensed to adopt. Their staff volunteers facilitated basketball games, relay races, and a game station. The kids had a blast interacting with families and making new friends.

TIAA hosted a back-to-school event in the Charlotte area for our foster care program. Children and their foster families enjoyed a fun morning playing and jumping at BounceU. TIAA volunteers helped facilitate the event and gave families an opportunity to network together and create community. TIAA provided gift cards to our kids and families for school supplies needed for this year.

“The afternoon spent at Red Ventures was fun for all. The hosts were amazing and the children and families loved the activities! The event created positive interactions for good conversations and pure family fun. It is events like these that keep us focused on finding families for every child.”

Donna Henderson, Senior Program Director

“It has been a privilege to support the mission of Children’s Home Society. They provide critical services to our region, and TIAA’s employees have been enthusiastic about getting engaged and supporting such an important community partner.”

Jarian Karekes, Director of Corporate Responsibility, TIAA

Bill Black Chevrolet’s Beach Music REMIX Celebrates 14 Years

2017 marked the 14th year of Bill Black Chevrolet’s Beach Music Remix, and our bands and fans did not disappoint!

More than 2,000 music enthusiasts attended each Thursday in June at LeBauer Park in downtown Greensboro. We shagged the night away to the sounds of crowd favorites Band of Oz, The Embers, and Sleeping Booty, and introduced new bands Bantum Rooster and The Plaids.

With your help, Children’s Home Society raised nearly $180,000 for the children and families that we serve. With those funds, CHS could finalize 30 adoptions for children across North Carolina – creating 30 more loving, permanent families. Thank you!

We couldn’t do it without our sponsors!

Our corporate partners make Bill Black Chevrolet’s Beach Music Remix possible. Through their support, funds raised during the five-week series can be used to help the more than 20,000 children and families that CHS serves annually.

To experience the Beach Music Remix visit:

chsnc.org/beachmusic

6 www.chsnc.org

Each sponsor fulfills a child’s wish list for holiday gifts by spending a pre-determined amount for each child based on age. Your local CHS office will provide you with a specific wish list for a child in your community. Once fulfilled, return the new, unwrapped gifts to your local CHS office. We also accept gift card donations to stores such as Walmart and Target.

Don’t have time to shop? Simply make a monetary donation to make an impact in a child’s life by visiting chsnc.org/donate.

DONATELooking for a way to engage your employees and build team morale? Request a group of wish lists from your local CHS office. Many of our supporters enjoy shopping together as a team building exercise. As an organization, you can make a larger impact to many families throughout your region. Additionally, companies can make MATCHING financial contributions and double their impact and support of children throughout the year.

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Please join us in making holiday wishes come true for these deserving children!

Betsy Seaton – Corporate Givingand Volunteers

1-800-632-1400, ext. 553bseaton@chsnc.org

Katrina LeFlore – West

(704) 562-6185 kleflore@chsnc.org

Nicole Chandler – Central

1-800-632-1400, ext. 486(336) 209-9887

nchandler@chsnc.org

Deborah Artis – East

1-800-632-1400, ext. 500 (919) 920-3793

dartis@chsnc.org

1.800.632.1400 7

At CHS, the holidays remind us of so much:traditions, love, and most of all, family.

This year, help make a child’s holiday merry and bright

by participating in our Hope for the Holidays toy drive.

Each year, Children’s Home Society collects and distributes gifts to children who live

with CHS-licensed foster families, and we need your help! Check out some of the ways

you can help make a difference in your community below.

Nonprofit OrgU.S. Postage

PAIDGreensboro, NC

Permit No. 11

Return Service Requested

Burlington • Charlotte • Fayetteville • Greensboro • Greenville • Morganton • Raleigh • Wilmington • Winston-Salem

VISIONTo be a leader in transforming families

and communities so children can thrive.

MISSIONTo promote the right of every child

to a permanent, safe, and loving family.

CORE VALUESCompassion. Integrity.Excellence. Innovation.

PO Box 14608, Greensboro, NC 27415-4608

1.800.632.1400 • www.chsnc.org

Malissa Flores was “born into her profession”Malissa Flores joined us in March as a Permanency Specialist in the Raleigh area with a unique combination of personal and professional experiences to prepare her for the job.

Born in South Carolina to a mother who was a social worker for Child Protective Services, Malissa’s family provided a foster home to many children. Unfortunately, it was a tumultuous time – that Malissa describes as having lots of “drama and chaos” – and the family unraveled. Malissa was moved from one church family to another until, at age 15, she was moved to Bolivia to live with a missionary family. There

until age 20, she describes this as the most stable phase of her young life.

Moving back to the United States with the help of a Raleigh church, she attended NC State, and after graduating, pursued her passion for child welfare. She was a guardian ad litem for a number of years and worked for Wake County Child Protective Services as an interpreter and in investigative assessment, both in-home and in foster care. Given her background, she is truly committed to child welfare, permanency, and the immigrant and minority community.

“I have never felt as supported to advocate for children as I do working for CHS.”